


The Seer

by afictionado



Category: Battlestar Galactica, Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-11
Updated: 2013-08-11
Packaged: 2017-12-23 04:22:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/921936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afictionado/pseuds/afictionado
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Saul Tigh sees more than Roslin and Adama give him credit for. He's aware of the irony of that, but he chooses not to acknowledge it. [Orig. published: January 27, 2010]</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Seer

*****

Something's going on between them. He knows it. He can tell. Saul Tigh sees more than Roslin and Adama give him credit for. He's aware of the irony of that, but he chooses not to acknowledge it. But whether it's something he sees or something in the air he can sense... he knows something between them has shifted. Whether or not _they_ know is the big question.

He first noticed something on the day of the groundbreaking ceremony on New Caprica. He saw them in small doses that day, but when he did, they were always together. 

_"Colonel!"_

_Tigh flinches at the sound, having just been sneaking a bottle of whiskey from behind the bar. He hides it behind his back as he spins toward the source of the Admiral's voice, and he supposes he should be surprised to find Laura Roslin at his side. Strangely, though, he's not. Bill's always had an unconventional relationship with their former president._

_At the onset, Bill made it clear he couldn't stand the woman. She was the thorn in his side, and he was positive she would do nothing but hover around Galactica, ask a thousand pointless questions, and generally frak things up. So imagine his surprise when Bill not only started willingly inviting her to debriefings in which she didn't necessarily need to be included, but actively seeking her counsel. It was as if he enjoyed her company. He just wouldn't admit it. Though Tigh never exactly asked._

_"Admiral! Sorry, I was uh..."_

_Bill chuckles, and for a moment Tigh is confused; he seems so relaxed. So at ease._

_"At ease, Saul," Bill chuckles again, and Tigh relaxes. "We're not on duty, just enjoying the day."_

_Laura smiles at him. "Hello, Colonel Tigh," and he tips his head at her courteously._

_"Madam President." Though she's not technically their leader anymore, she still is in his mind. He refuses to accept that mad scientist as the new leader of the Colonies._

_"Can I get one of those?" she nods at the bottle in his hands, and the left corner of her lips quirks upward._

_Whether Bill's aware of his feelings for the woman or not, Tigh has to admit to himself that he's got good taste. If he didn't have Ellen he thinks perhaps he'd have a soft spot for Roslin, too. She's a beautiful woman, of course. All that thick red hair, the playful green eyes, the enigmatic smile..._

_Yes. She's lovely. He'd be a little confused if Bill_ wasn't _smitten with her._

_He pours her a drink and soon Bill asks for the same; the three of them raise their glasses in a silent toast and clink them together. Bill laughs when she takes her first drink and coughs from the liquor's strength. Tigh watches as Bill reaches out and takes her arm, asking if she's okay. She nods and begins to giggle, covering her mouth with her free hand in embarrassment._

_"Wasn't expecting that," she coughs. "It's good. Strong, but good."_

_Tigh smirks at her, then turns his eyes back to Bill -- more specifically, his hand. He watches as his thumb rubs back and forth on her arm lightly for a moment before letting go. He then flicks his eyes up to Bill's, still finding them centered on the redhead._

_He smiles to himself then, into his glass, as he looks at the tents around them, feeling like he's just discovered a long-kept secret. If he's right, he owes Ellen some money._

They weren't at the celebration that night, and he remembers having looked for them. He figured they'd at least be dancing, as they did back on Colonial Day. But they were nowhere to be found. The next time he'd seen them had been the next morning.

_Tigh furrows his brow as he watches Kara Thrace, dragging that boyfriend of hers up from the sand as his mind goes over what she's just told him. He's not surprised, really -- not at what she told him. Just that she told him at all._

_A giggle in the distance draws his attention, and he glances over his shoulder to find Roslin and Adama walking together. She has her hand to her mouth, trying to suppress her giggles as she hooks her hand around his arm. He's smiling and leaning in close, saying something in her ear. Jokes, maybe. Quite possibly of the inside sort._

_Tigh tilts his head as he watches Laura trip on a small sand dune, and Bill reaches out to catch her, grabbing onto one arm while his other braces her around the waist. She's still giggling and this time he laughs at her, shaking his head. "Boy, you are toasted," he hears Bill say as they pass by him, not seeing him._

_"Yeah, and you're a toaster," she smacks his chest._

_Bill just chuckles and shakes his head, patting the small of her back. She's regained her footing again now, and Tigh watches him start to let go._

_But then, he just reaches down and takes her hand, laces their fingers together; they turn to each other as they continue walking into the distance and share a smile as Laura reaches over with her free hand to clutch his arm. Tigh glances down, to see if maybe Ellen had caught that as well, but she's still passed out in his lap._

_He sighs and takes another swig from the bottle, narrowing his eyes at the pair that gets smaller and smaller in the distance._

There have been so many other signs along the way, since that day, that he's starting to take into consideration as he forms his theories about Roslin and Adama. Yes, she's president of the Colonies again, and as such would not be likely to just enter into a relationship with a subordinate... unless she was already in one.

Tigh wonders if there's some sort of executive loophole there for the two of them, or if, providing his suspicions are correct and they are in a relationship, they would have to keep it under wraps. Either way, there are questions needing answers. There are too many signs to ignore now. 

First, there's the fact that she seems to always visit Galactica; more specifically, the Admiral's quarters. In the beginning, when the two of them needed to meet, more often than not, it was on Colonial One, and meetings were conducted with a professional, polite air. Now, the more meetings Tigh sits in on with the two of them, the more he begins to notice that the atmosphere of the meetings has become much more relaxed. 

Laura lounges in Bill's chairs as they go over details and strategies. If it's been a long night, sometimes she'll take her shoes off and bury her toes in the carpeting, and Bill doesn't even react -- as if this is nothing out of the ordinary for her to do. Sometimes she'll even commandeer his desk and he doesn't make so much as a sound in protest. And of course there's the way they use each other's first names now; occasionally they'll revert back to being 'Admiral' and 'Madam President' if the discussion gets heated, or if they're in a group of people, but otherwise they're just 'Bill' and 'Laura.' They dropped those pretenses in front of him by the third meeting he joined them in, in Bill's quarters.

Next, there's the moment he walked in on, unseen, just moments ago: 

_The door to his quarters had been left ajar, just by a few inches, enough to allow him a view of the inside. Their voices carry, though he has to strain to make out what they're saying._

_They're discussing Baltar; Bill's asking her what they were going to do next. Tigh can't help but chuckle to himself at that. Hell, if it were up to him, there would've been a bullet between Baltar's eyes long ago. Or he would've sent him for a little one-way trip out the airlock. Both, quite possibly._

_But that's moot. Laura is telling him that he had to have a trial, and Bill makes a grunt of agreement. Under any other circumstance, Tigh is certain that the Admiral would've balked at that assessment. He knows the man is filled with bile for the mad scientist. So his easy acquiescence can obviously be attributed to the redhead._

_And then that's when he sees them: she's laying on the Admiral's bed, and Bill is seated beside her. She looks quite comfortable there, at home almost, as does Bill. Her hand reaches out, strokes the Admiral's arm. Not long after, he takes her hand and presses a kiss to her knuckles. And that's when Tigh turns on his heel, and goes back the way he came._

Yes, he sees quite a bit happening there. Whether or not they're aware of what's transpiring is left to be seen. And as he glances down at his wedding ring and twists it on his finger, thinking of Ellen, he just hopes Bill and Laura can figure it out before it's too late.

 

**FIN**


End file.
